10 Magical Features We Wish Car Seats Could Have

Modern car seats are already pretty miraculous, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement, especially when it comes to making things easier on us parents. Just think of all the things we could outsource in the car if only technology could catch up to our imaginations! Here are 10 features we wish our car seats had.

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1. The Translator: When your kid is yelling incoherently and there’s no hope of you solving the problem because you can’t figure out what the problem is, the marvelous Translator Seat is here to help you out. It listens to the litany of your child’s always-perfectly-reasonable requests and then interprets them in language you can understand.

2. The Stylist: You know what would be awesome? A seat that does your kid’s hair on the way to school! Clips, curls, gel, braids, you name it, your seat can work all the magic of a salon pro. But until product like that goes on the market (and maybe one that also brushes their teeth?), check out this KidsEmbrace booster, which comes with its own hair bow and Minnie ears.

3. The Feeder: Getting kids to eat can be a challenge, and getting them to eat within the narrow window of minutes before you have to be somewhere important is even trickier. Think of the time and stress you’d save if the car seat could feed your kid on the go! Heck, you don’t even have to drive anywhere; pop the kid in the seat for every meal and let technology do the rest. Of course, you’d need to be sure your seat has this next feature too...

4. The Self-Cleaning Seat: Imagine never having to pick crumbs from the creases, dig mystery goo from the buckles, or play What’s that Stain? Any seat that could clean itself would be a top seller for sure. (Now, while I would never buy a car seat that didn’t have washable fabric, let’s be real: how often am I really going to launder my car seat? Instead, I say get one in a pattern with the power to camouflage; this Britax Boulevard comes in several designs that masterfully hide stains and messes.)

5. The Retriever: Whether it’s a dropped toy or a pacifier that popped out of the mouth, your faithful Retriever will come to the rescue. It knows exactly what your kid wants, and, whether it’s the first time or the zillionth time, will pick up the item with the same ready enthusiasm of a puppy playing fetch.

6. The Go-to-Sleep Seat: While some kids fall asleep in the car before you’re out of the driveway, other kids absolutely will not sleep in the car, ever, under any circumstances, so don’t even try. A seat with some sort of fantastical sleep-inducing powers would be a sanity-saver for some parents.

7. The Stay-Awake Seat: On the other side of the coin, there’s nothing quite so frustrating as a kid who can’t seem to keep her eyes open during a car ride -- or does just fine until you’re aaaaaalmost at your destination, and then ZONK. I’ll let the car seat manufacturers figure out how to make this happen, but may I suggest a little hand that pops out to gently boop the child on the nose every time her eyes start to close?

8. The Featherweight: It’s 2017. Weren’t we supposed to have flying cars by now? In the meantime, every parent I know would be happy to have a flying car seat -- one that harness the power of flight to transfer your infant from house to car, car to shopping cart, and back again without you having to lift a finger.

9. The Canopy: Your child thinks you hang the moon, but unfortunately he also thinks you can turn off the sun so it will stop shining on him in the car. We’d pay extra for a seat that could block the sun from all angles but somehow magically let you see your kid and let your kid see out the window.

10. The Forever Seat: What would be it like to not have to buy an entirely new car seat every time your kid grows an inch or gains a pound? Well, now you can find out: the Graco 4Ever All-in-One Convertible Car Seat adjusts for kids from 4 pounds up to 120 pounds, and just might be your dream car seat come to life.